Nursing 20m/o, pregnant, still pump?

Hi. I'm a nurse working 2-3 13 hour shifts a week, and I'm also a mother to a 20 month old who still nurses. On my days off I nurse at wake up, nap time, bedtime. On my work days, I nurse before work, pump once, then wake him to nurse when I go to bed. I am also newly pregnant and have noticed a decline in supply. I am sure I could make it the whole day without pumping. However I don't want to "ruin it" for my son just because I don't need to pump for fullness reasons. In my mind, if I cut out that pump and go 15 hours without any stimulation, then my supply will dwindle even more. Is this true, or am I just wasting my time pumping?

Re: Nursing 20m/o, pregnant, still pump?

So are you concerned that pumping isn't a good idea because you are pregnant, or are you just thinking wow I would love to be able to stop pumping at work, and it looks like I can! (?) I guess I am wondering if you want to keep pumping at work, or would really rather not.

Having nursed a child who loved to nurse through a pregnancy, I think I can say that where there is a will there is a way. A child who really loves to nurse may well keep nursing even if there is very little to no milk. How you feel about this may change throughout your pregnancy, of course. But while I know many kids wean during pregnancy, that was not my experience at all.

Also since you are not at work every day, if baby is given more or less free access when you are home, that may give the boost to production that makes up for not pumping on the work days.

If your pregnancy causes a reduction in production, that is not your fault, but the fault of biological reality. Biology has a way of not caring about "ruining it" for people!

Re: Nursing 20m/o, pregnant, still pump?

No, I'm not concerned about pumping or breastfeeding hurting the pregnancy in any way. It would be nice to not have to pump anymore, and to be able to maybe even go eat my lunch outside!

I do say "no, not now" and limit the nursing to wake up, before nap, and before bed, unless he is having a really rough day. For a couple weeks just after he turned 18 months he was asking ALL the time, but I'm guessing it was just a tough developmental or possibly teething stage for him because he is more reasonable now.

So I'll give it a shot to let him nurse more on my days off if he wants to, and stop the pumping.

One thing that came up today was my husband asking if I was planning on nursing both kids when the new one is born. I said, I don't know, that's a long time from now. I don't plan on actively weaning my toddler, so if he is still nursing when the new one comes, then we'll sort that out when it happens. Hubby is just worried about two things - 1) my toddler becoming dependent on nursing when he needs to be comforted (and then husband not being able to provide comfort) and 2) waiting till the last minute to decide that I don't want to nurse both babies and then having to wean my toddler cold-turkey. I told him that I would make a decision long before it's too late!

Re: Nursing 20m/o, pregnant, still pump?

For those questions I suggest Adventures in Tandem Nursing. Excellent info for you and your husband. I tandem nursed with my oldest and second baby, and found it exceedingly helpful in navigating life with a newborn and a late 2 to 3 year old. VERY helpful. Compared to the benefits, the issues that cropped up were minor and easily solved. Also it is quite possible that even if your child weans while you are pregnant, he will want to nurse again when baby comes. Fair warning.

1) my toddler becoming dependent on nursing when he needs to be comforted (and then husband not being able to provide comfort)

Everyone worries about this. In fact, nature made children dependent on nursing, they are not made this way by parent's choices. When you need your husband to double team bedtimes, you guys will figure that out according to what works for all of you. In our case, at first we bedshared with everyone so they could both nurse to sleep. Later when my older son had his own room, he still nursed AT bedtime, but then husband took him and settled him down to sleep. When he was not home, we figured something else out. It all worked out. Also dad or someone else being able to comfort a child to sleep or just to comfort, this comes about naturally as the child ages or due to necessity (mom is busy with baby.) These problems are almost always bigger when imagined than how they turn out in reality.